Democrat Daniel Squadron quitting state Senate seat

Brooklyn lawmaker announces his last day will be Friday

By Matthew Hamilton

Updated
5:54 pm EDT, Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-New York, speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday, May 9, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. The New York Senate Elections Committee has briefly considered legislation to close a campaign finance loophole for limited liability companies, its Republican members voting to send it to another committee. Squadron, the lead sponsor, urged the Elections Committee to send it to a floor vote in the Republican-controlled chamber instead, where all senators would have to publicly show their positions. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) less

Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-New York, speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday, May 9, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. The New York Senate Elections Committee has briefly considered legislation to close ... more

Photo: Mike Groll

Photo: Mike Groll

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Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-New York, speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday, May 9, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. The New York Senate Elections Committee has briefly considered legislation to close a campaign finance loophole for limited liability companies, its Republican members voting to send it to another committee. Squadron, the lead sponsor, urged the Elections Committee to send it to a floor vote in the Republican-controlled chamber instead, where all senators would have to publicly show their positions. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) less

Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-New York, speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol on Monday, May 9, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. The New York Senate Elections Committee has briefly considered legislation to close ... more

Photo: Mike Groll

Democrat Daniel Squadron quitting state Senate seat

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ALBANY — A Democratic state senator will resign on Friday, marking another round of intrigue for the chamber at a time when Democratic factions remain splintered and Republicans maintain a slim majority.

State Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-Brooklyn, announced on Wednesday that he will resign from the chamber Friday. He said in a statement that he will devote himself to pushing policies and candidates nationwide "that will create a fairer and more democratic future."

"It's not possible to take on this challenge and continue to be a full-time legislator, which is what I always promised I would be," said the lawmaker, who was first elected to the Senate in 2008.

Squadron's departure will not change the chamber's partisan makeup: His district, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan, is a safely Democratic seat based on voter enrollment.

But in an op-ed in the Daily News, Squadron repeated the complaint that Democrats do not control the 63-seat chamber despite holding a numerical majority.

Squadron wrote that while he still believes in state government's potential, "over the years I have seen it thwarted by a sliver of heavily invested special interests."

The eight-member Independent Democratic Conference has maintained a "majority coalition" with the Senate Republicans, who are separately allied with Brooklyn Democrat Simcha Felder to secure their control.

In a statement, Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called Squadron "a fantastic senator, a dedicated public servant, and a dear friend."

The seat will be filled this November during off-cycle elections. Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, D-Manhattan, announced Wednesday afternoon that he will seek the seat. Because the deadline has passed to petition to obtain a ballot line — thus requiring a primary — the district's two Democratic county committees will select a nominee.

Squadron's exit may not be the only in the Senate before the end of the year. Democratic Sens. George Latimer of Westchester County and Ruben Diaz Sr. of the Bronx are seeking local elected positions. Republican Sen. Phil Boyle of Long Island is running for Suffolk County sheriff.

Any of their exits would key up special elections — or, if they resign, elections in November — for their seats.

Squadron's exit comes at a time when Democratic voters in some areas have become impassioned about gaining control of the Senate — a task that is easier said than done because of internal politics.

Their pleas recently led the state Democratic Committee to adopt a resolution to formally call for Senate reunification, much to the chagrin of the IDC, led by Sen. Jeff Klein of the Bronx.

News of Squadron's resignation coincidentally came as a new account emerged of a meeting last month between Gov. Andrew Cuomo — a Democrat criticized by some for not doing more to reunify the party's Senate factions — and the mainline Democratic senators. The New York Times reported Wednesday that Cuomo suggested to them that the IDC had a better understanding of the suburbs.

The Times reported that Stewart-Cousins, who represents Westchester County, replied to Cuomo: "You look at me, Mr. Governor, but you don't see me. You see my black skin and a woman, but you don't realize I am a suburban legislator. Jeff Klein doesn't represent the suburbs. I do."

A Cuomo spokeswoman told the Times that the comment "was not of particular note" and the meeting was friendly and positive.